Improvement in self-acting mules



*raras Unire LORENZO O. DAM, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, AND JOHN WIGLEY,OF MILFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SELF-ACTING IVIULES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 51,930, dated January9, 1866.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LORENZO C. DAM, of Lowell, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, and JOHN NVIGLEY, of Milford, inthe county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented anew and usef'ul Improvement in Self-Acting Mules;

and We do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters and gures marked thereon.

Figure I is a perspective view. Fig'. II is a section of the cone online 17, Fig. III, and end View ofthe same. Fig. III is a longitudinalsection of the cone and the scroll; Fig. IV, faller-wire and nippers.

Our improvement relates only to that part of the mule that produces thecop or bobbin of yarn, commonly called the wind77 movement. The motionsof the parts comprised in our mechanism bear a definite relation to andare timed with the movements of the spindles, both in their axialrevolution and in their horizontal motion back and forth upon thecarriage but our improvement relates solely to those parts that actdirectly in forming or building the cop.

In the drawings those parts are omitted from the mule-head that relateto other functions of the machine.

The build 7 or structure of the cop is a matter of great importance, asupon this depends the free and regular delivery ofthe filling when thecop is placed in the shuttle ofa loom. The exterior form or outlineshould also be uniform in all of the bobbins or cops, as well as of a.denite diameter, to correspond with the size of the cavity in theshuttle. It is also important that the strain upon the thread or yarnshould be uniform throughout the whole extent ofthe wind, whether theyarn be running upon the bare spindle or upon the outer layers of thecop.

The shaper, as itis termed in the com mou mule, gives the general shapeor outline of the cop, but the equal tension of the yarn is maintainedand regulated solely by the strain upon the yarn between the rollers andthe spindles.

The mechanism devised by us for giving the wind produces an evenly-woundcop or bobbin that has not been subjected to undue tension.

When the mule 1`s constructed in the manner herein described it is verymuch simplified, many complicated parts are dispensed with, and theweight of the machine is reduced about three hundred pounds.

In Figure l the large gear A represents the manglegear, which furnishesthe drivingpower for the wind. This drives the gear 4 affixed to thehorizontal shaft B, which extends across the frame-work 5 5, and hasupon it the apparatus represented in Figs. Il and Ill,

which operates the Wind and cousitutes one of the main features of ourinvention.

The shaft B is so geared as to make four and a half revolutions to eachstretch of the mule. It has upon it the expanding drum or changeablescroll, Figs. II and III. This consists of a flange,13, affixed to theshaft B, and having eight arms or levers, 10 10 10, extending from itand working in grooves 14 ot a cone, 8, which is fitted to traversehorizontally upon the shaft B, oneend of each arm beingjointed to theflange 13, as represented at 1l. The outer edges ofthe arms 10 aregrooved or notched spirally, as at 18 18 I8, to receive the chain 6,which is taken up and let olifrom the winding apparatus, as hereinafterdescribed. The cone 8 revolves freely upon the shaft B, and has at itslarge end a collar, 20, and circular groove 9, formed to receive theforked end of the lever 19, the fulcrum of which is upon the stand 21.The other end of the lever is provided with an attachment which holdsthe nut Z, having a thread to correspond with the horizontal screw Y,which extends across the frame 5 parallel with the shaft B, and has atone end the pulley 22, which is driven, by the band X, from the pulley23. The cone 8 is placed close up to the flange 13 when the mulecommences to build the cop 15, thefree ends of the arms 10, which have aslight curve upward, resting in the grooves and forming nearly` astraight or cylindrical drum. As the spindles G Gill with yarn the cone8 is drawn out from the ends of the levers or arms 10, and forms ascroll or cam for the chain 6 to wind upon, the length of chain taken upvarying with the change of the circumference as measured upon the arms10 around the grooves 18 18. The Withdrawal of the cone 8 from the arms1() is effected by the lever 19, one end of which plays in the groove 9,while the other end traverses upon the revolving helix Y. The .screw isworked by a small belt, X,'by means of the tensionof f The shaft C atthe front of the frame is made the yarn 24 as it winds on the spindlesGr G'. The carriage E of the mule is driven in the usual manner, thetrucks F F running upon the rails 3 3, which rest upon the oor 2. smallpart of the carriage is represented in the drawings, two spindles onlybeing shown. .In the working-mule there are several hundreds ofspindles, and the combined strength of all the yarns is sufficient toactuate the regulating apparatus. The rollers that deliver the yarn, aswell as other parts that do not relate to the wind, are omitted in thedrawings. A long cylinder or drum revolving upon the bearing 7 withinthe box of the carriage E drives the whirls and spindles H Gr by meansof the band I. The speed of the spindle Gr is chan ged by the tension ofthe yarn or thread 24, which passes, previous to itsv being wound up,over the faller-wire 27 and under the fallerwire 26. These wires andtheir connections with the regulating-band WV W are const-ruoted asfollows: Several brackets, 29 30, are at'- tixed to thetraversing-carriage E, and have at the top twojoints, 31 32, from whichextend the arms 34and 35. The upper one, 34, carries the horizontal wire27, called the counter-faller,77 and the lower one, 35, carries the wire26, called the building-fallen Both of these wires extend the wholelength of the carriage. To the arm 34 of the counter-fuller a chain orwire, 36, is fastened, which extends downward and takes hold of theweight 37, which is attached to the free end of the arm 3S. At the otherend is the fulerm 39, attached to the end of the carriage. There is alsoa small stud or knob, 41, affixed to the carriage just below thefriction or holding plate 40, which is on the lower edge of the arm 38,these parts 40 and 41 being intended to act as nippers and take a rmhold of the cord or band W', thus attaching it at certain times to thecarriage and causing the cord to move at the same velocity as thecarriage.

When the cop or bobbin begins to ill upon the bare spindle Gr thespindle is at the greatest speed, and as the yarn 24 is wound upon itina conical forni the velocity of the spindle is reduced by the tension ofthe yarn upon the counter-faller 27. When the speed of the spindle istoo great the counter-faller 27 is drawn down to a point at which thenippers 40 41 will take hold of the belt W and carry it forward with thecarriage until the speed of the spindle is reduced, this diminution ofspeed being effected by the movements of the pulley X, the screw Y, andthe lever 19, the forked end of which withdraws the cone S from thehinged arms 10, thus reducing the circumference (as measured around thegrooves 18) and taking up less length of the driving-chain 6. The band Pwinds up the chain 6 upon the scroll T as it is let oft' from the arms10 of the changeable drum 8 10, the motion being communicated to thepulley It upon the shaft G by the pulley Q upon the shaft B.

in two parts, the common clutch-box V 48 being situated near the middle,and having on one side the scroll or cone T, the friction-weight 28, andthe pulley B, and on the other side the pulley K, which drives the bandJ. The pawls in the part 48 take hold of the teeth or projections in thepart V when turning forward, and when ruiming in the other directionthey drop over them without communicating motion.

When the mule begins to wind the yarn 24 upon the spindle G the chain 6is all off the eX- pansion-drnm 8 10, and is wound up around the scrolldrum or cone T in front of the frame. The power is transmitted from theshaft B, by means of the chain 6, to the shaft C in front of the frame,and from G to the cylinder or drum 46 inside of the carriageE by meansof a band or belt, J, carried by the pulleyK on the shaft C; thence bythe side ot' the frame over the loose pulley M, and around the pulley Lat the end ofthe carriage; thence around loose pulleys at the back oftheframe and return.

The pulley L above the loose pulley M is affixed to the horizontal shaft47, which drives both of the cylinders 46 46', the position of thesecylinders being upon opposite sides of the mule-head.

The spindles Gare driven by short bands I 1 that pass around thecylinder.

The speed of the shaft B is uniform, while that of the shaft O isvariable, and its velocity depends upon the position of the cone 8 andthe consequent size or diameter of the expansion-drum S 10, the positionof the arms 10 depending, as before stated, upon the strain or tensionof the yarn that is being spun.

The intermediate dogs, 12 12, near one end of the expansioudrum, areintended to give a strong tension. upon the yarn at the point or smallend of the cop.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The expansion-drum formed by the cone and hin ged arms or theirequivalents, substantially as herein described and for the purposespecified.

2. The combination of the expansion-drum with'the scroll-cam T and thepulley K, or their equivalents, by which the velocity of the cyllinderthat drives the spindles is increased or diminished as required.

3. The combination of the faller-wires and the attached nippers with thebands, pulleys, screw Y, and lever 19, or their equivalents, for movingthe cone 3 to the right or left at the right time, and to such adistance as may be necessary to impart the requisite velocity to thecylinder 46.

LORENZO O. DAM. iL. 5.] J OHN VIGLEY. lL. s]

In presence of- J. F. FRYE, GEO. D. WooDMAN.

